If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

DRM Work Piling Up For The Linux 3.4 Kernel

Phoronix: DRM Work Piling Up For The Linux 3.4 Kernel

While it looks like there's still another week before the Linux 3.3 kernel will be released and thus marking the merge window for the Linux 3.4 kernel opening, here's some of the DRM graphics changes you can expect to see merged...

What about PCI-E 2.0 Support? Or is it already supported in linux 3.3?
I believe I read it caused a major speedup in some cases.

mcgreg

It's already in 3.2 I believe. I've at least enabled it in my 3.2 kernel, and haven't seen any error messages regarding it. Michael says (in this article)

Taking full advantage of PCI Express 2.0 for Radeon graphics cards involves setting a few registers related to the PCI-E link width and speed control. The code has been there for the supported generations of Radeon hardware for many months now, but it is not on by default. Like the Intel RC6 and Active State Power Management problems in the Linux kernel, PCI-E Gen2 is not on by default at this time due to a few hardware-specific problems. For some problematic systems, having the Radeon DRM with PCI Express 2.0 support enabled will cause a corrupted screen upon mode-setting. The problem comes down to compatibility issues with some motherboards. For over a year now the PCI-E Gen2 support has been concealed behind a kernel module parameter.

Those wishing to take advantage of PCI Express 2.0 with supported motherboards (nearly all Intel and AMD motherboards from 2008 and newer) and graphics cards (Radeon HD 3000 series and newer) must boot the kernel with the "radeon.pcie_gen2=1" on the kernel command line (or probe the radeon DRM with "pcie_gen2=1"), otherwise the graphics card will still be operating at PCI Express 1.0 speeds. Even with the forthcoming Linux 3.3 kernel, PCI-E 2.0 support is still off by default with the Radeon driver.

Ahh now that I see this, I believe I've read this one already some time ago.
But somehow I've kind of understood the remaining "issues" would be solved for the next releases (linux 3.3 or linux 3.4) and set it as default if the hardware is capable.